running the ropes
Where creativity meets professional wrestling.
Every post is built from real experience, inside the ring and behind the desk. Gear, branding, image, marketing, everything that shapes how a wrestler looks and feels to the world.
This is where the visual side of the business gets the attention it deserves.
How to design wrestling gear on a budget (without looking amateur)
A question from the comments took me back to my debut run: no budget, no gear, no clue. Here's what I learned about building a wrestler's look from nothing, why John Cena, Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy prove basic doesn't mean thoughtless, and why the concept always matters more than the price tag.
A Full Season of Posters for Resist Pro Wrestling
Every poster for Resist Pro Wrestling started with one question: why does this need to exist? A full season recap of concept, branding, and the design process that connects a poster to everything that comes after it, titantrons, teasers, and the identity of the show itself.
Good Posters Sell Tickets
10 years as an Art Director. Active professional wrestler.
There aren't many people who can talk about wrestling poster design from both sides, the creative brief and the locker room.
So I did.
Why wrestler photos matter more than you think, what a concept actually means in this context, and why a bad poster can kill a show that deserved a full building.
Most Wrestlers Are Asking the Wrong Question About Their Entrance
Most wrestlers ask "what should my titantron look like?" Wrong question. Here's the one that actually matters, and a full breakdown of how I used it to build mine.
The Lost Art of Titantrons: How Wrestling Entrance Videos Stopped Telling Stories
Most wrestling entrance videos are doing one of two things right now. Telling a story, or just taking up screen time.
This is a breakdown of how titantrons evolved, where they lost the plot, and what separates the ones that still hit different from the ones you forget before the first bell rings.
Wrestling merch that doesn’t look like wrestling merch & That's Why It Works.
My best-selling shirt doesn't lead with my name, my catchphrase, or anything you'd expect from a wrestling tee. It leads with intention. In Part 3 of the Create Your Wrestler Merch series, I break down every decision behind a design that sells to the die-hard fan and the complete stranger equally, and what that means for how you should be thinking about your own merch.
Merch that stops people’s eyes Here's How to Make Sure It Does.
Most wrestlers design their merch for the fans they already have.
Most wrestlers design their merch for the fans they already have. That's exactly why it stops selling there. In Part 2 of the Create Your Wrestler Merch series, we break down what it actually means to design with intent — how to build a shirt that works for the die-hard fan at the show and the stranger who's never heard your name. Because your merch table is your brand. It's time to treat it like one.
What Merch Should You Actually Make?
Before you spend a dollar on wrestling merch, you need to answer one question: what do you actually have to work with?
Before you spend a dollar on wrestling merch, you need to answer one question: what do you actually have to work with? Not every product is right for every wrestler, and the wrong choice is money you're not getting back. This is Part 1 of the Create Your Wrestler Merch series: how to read your own brand and build from what's already strong.
Stop Filming Boring Promos
Same Wrestler. Different Gears
